Re: Protein in my son's urine

[Guest guest]

Dear Martha

Speaking as one who has no children, I have every sympathy with your

worries, and can only imagine how awful you must be feeling right now.

First, I am sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with IgM this alone

is difficult enough to deal with. As far as your son goes, as right as you

are to worry about him just now, remember there can be many reasons for

protein or blood in the urine, not necessarily IGA or IGM. I don't want to

dismiss the strength of your worries, but until the results are back, there

is very little you can do. Your son could have something like a UTI or

kidney infection. If it is any use to you, my nephew has had repeated

infections and pain such as you describe, and his urine test always came

back negative for infection, but blood and protein had been present.

Further testing ruled that it was a viral infection that was causing the

problems, and since a massive dose of antibiotics he has been symptom free,

and urine clear.

As far as if IgA is hereditary, I would doubt this very much, but nothing

surprises me these days. I will perhaps leave that to Pierre to answer

more fully if he can.

Sorry I can't be more positive for you. Good luck and stay positive.

Protein in my son's urine

Hi Everyone,

I could sure use some advise right now. I'm the one who was

recently diagnoses with IgM nephropathy and mild lupus.

My 11 y/o son has complained on and off for a year about pains

in his kidney area-front and back. Stabbing types of pain. In the

past his urinalysis has been normal, but last Friday he got a bad sore

throat and it didn't go away so today I took him to the pediatrician

for a throat culture. The rapid strep was negative but I had him send

it off for further examination. I also had him check my son's urine

and it showed trace protein today. He is sending it off for

microscopic analysis for blood, etc. I'm FREAKING out! I can't do

this. I'm sick-he can't be too! Does this sound like IgA Nephropathy?

How could this be. Does this run in families? There is NO kidney

disease in my family or my husbands. The doctor told me to calm down

but I've been down this road before. What should I do now?

Please advise...

Thank you, Martha

[Guest guest]

>

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I could sure use some advise right now. I'm the one who was

> recently diagnoses with IgM nephropathy and mild lupus.

>

> My 11 y/o son has complained on and off for a year about pains

> in his kidney area-front and back. Stabbing types of pain. In the

> past his urinalysis has been normal, but last Friday he got a bad

sore

> throat and it didn't go away so today I took him to the

pediatrician

> for a throat culture. The rapid strep was negative but I had him

send

> it off for further examination. I also had him check my son's urine

> and it showed trace protein today. He is sending it off for

> microscopic analysis for blood, etc. I'm FREAKING out! I can't do

> this. I'm sick-he can't be too! Does this sound like IgA

Nephropathy?

> How could this be. Does this run in families? There is NO kidney

> disease in my family or my husbands. The doctor told me to calm

down

> but I've been down this road before. What should I do now?

> Please advise...

> Thank you, Martha Im sorry to hear the bad news, but if they found

protein in your sons urine he defenitly has kidney disease. I

recomend you take him to a Nephrologist to start theoropy right away.

[Guest guest]

Trace amounts of protein might not be anything.

There is some evidence that IgAN runs in some families, and a gene has

apparently been identified, but, I would be willing to bet that not even one

person on this list has any other relatives who also have IgAN. I personally

have never heard of such a case. So it can't be very common. I would have to

review the literature, but I believe familial clustering of IgAN is more

common among Asian races (just going by memory here folks, so don't quote

me). Nowhere in my most extended family tree has there ever been a known

case of kidney disease, and going back to the days before dialysis etc., no

one I know has ever died from any kidney disease whatsoever. Anybody else?

Pierre

Protein in my son's urine

>

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I could sure use some advise right now. I'm the one who was

> recently diagnoses with IgM nephropathy and mild lupus.

>

> My 11 y/o son has complained on and off for a year about pains

> in his kidney area-front and back. Stabbing types of pain. In the

> past his urinalysis has been normal, but last Friday he got a bad sore

> throat and it didn't go away so today I took him to the pediatrician

> for a throat culture. The rapid strep was negative but I had him send

> it off for further examination. I also had him check my son's urine

> and it showed trace protein today. He is sending it off for

> microscopic analysis for blood, etc. I'm FREAKING out! I can't do

> this. I'm sick-he can't be too! Does this sound like IgA Nephropathy?

> How could this be. Does this run in families? There is NO kidney

> disease in my family or my husbands. The doctor told me to calm down

> but I've been down this road before. What should I do now?

> Please advise...

> Thank you, Martha

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> >

> > Hi Everyone,

> >

> > I could sure use some advise right now. I'm the one who was

> > recently diagnoses with IgM nephropathy and mild lupus.

> >

> > My 11 y/o son has complained on and off for a year about pains

> > in his kidney area-front and back. Stabbing types of pain. In the

> > past his urinalysis has been normal, but last Friday he got a bad

> sore

> > throat and it didn't go away so today I took him to the

> pediatrician

> > for a throat culture. The rapid strep was negative but I had him

> send

> > it off for further examination. I also had him check my son's

urine

> > and it showed trace protein today. He is sending it off for

> > microscopic analysis for blood, etc. I'm FREAKING out! I can't do

> > this. I'm sick-he can't be too! Does this sound like IgA

> Nephropathy?

> > How could this be. Does this run in families? There is NO kidney

> > disease in my family or my husbands. The doctor told me to calm

> down

> > but I've been down this road before. What should I do now?

> > Please advise...

> > Thank you, Martha Im sorry to hear the bad news, but if they

found

> protein in your sons urine he defenitly has kidney disease. I

> recomend you take him to a Nephrologist to start theoropy right

away.

Most dipstick tests that are

positive for protein are a result of benign proteinuria, and no cause

for concern (it does need to be investigated though, to find the

reason -- so, 24 hour urine collection). For examples of benign

causes

of mild proteinuria, see this web page:

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/clinicacayanga/proteinuria_in_adults

..htm

Dehydration is a common cause, as is fever.

Pierre

[Guest guest]

Pierre,

Thanks for the encouragement. Being a mom can be so scary at times.

The pediatrician sent the " trace protein " over to the hospital to

check for microhematuria. Of course they got the test " mixed up " &

did a urine culture rather than checking for blood under the

microscope. I wish they had the original sample to check for blood

Anyway,the next I took another sample down. It looked real clear (I

have a urine fedish-lol). Sure enough that sample came back normal-no

blood or protein. The doctor wants me to sample his urine in about 2

weeks and then every month for a few months just to be sure. He said

that many people have trace protein in thier urine from just walking

around. I don't quite buy it in this case because he has never had

protein in his urine before even when he was sick with a fever. It

seems like my IgM nephropathy took several years to manifest postive

urinalysis even though I was symptomatic. Pierre, how old were you

when you developed IgA? Were you otherwise healthy? Have you had your

tonsils out? Does the tonsils out put it into remission or just make

it not as bad?

Thanks, Martha

>

> Most dipstick tests that are

> positive for protein are a result of benign proteinuria, and no

cause

> for concern (it does need to be investigated though, to find the

> reason -- so, 24 hour urine collection). For examples of benign

> causes

> of mild proteinuria, see this web page:

>

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/clinicacayanga/proteinuria_in_adults

> .htm

>

> Dehydration is a common cause, as is fever.

>

> Pierre

[Guest guest]

Re: Protein in my son's urine

> Pierre,

> Thanks for the encouragement. Being a mom can be so scary at times.

> The pediatrician sent the " trace protein " over to the hospital to

> check for microhematuria. Of course they got the test " mixed up " &

> did a urine culture rather than checking for blood under the

> microscope. I wish they had the original sample to check for blood

> Anyway,the next I took another sample down. It looked real clear (I

> have a urine fedish-lol). Sure enough that sample came back normal-no

> blood or protein. The doctor wants me to sample his urine in about 2

> weeks and then every month for a few months just to be sure. He said

> that many people have trace protein in thier urine from just walking

> around. I don't quite buy it in this case because he has never had

> protein in his urine before even when he was sick with a fever. It

> seems like my IgM nephropathy took several years to manifest postive

> urinalysis even though I was symptomatic. Pierre, how old were you

> when you developed IgA? Were you otherwise healthy? Have you had your

> tonsils out? Does the tonsils out put it into remission or just make

> it not as bad?

> Thanks, Martha

> >

You're welcome Martha. To answer your question, I was about 23 or so when a

routine medical revealed blood in my urine (it was never visible to the

naked eye). Protein came a bit later, as far as I can recall. I was

otherwise perfectly healthy, had not been sick in any way, and I was also in

excellent physical condition. No, never had my tonsils out. I'm told they

look very healthy. A tonsillectomy alone does not cause IgA nephropathy to

go into remission, but it may reduce the frequency of bouts of

macrohematuria if the disease seems to evolve in conjunction with

respiratory infections. This has never been the case with me. I never had

any symptoms at all until more than a decade later when I started having

very resistant high blood pressure. By this time, my serum creatinine was a

little beyond the normal range. Now, 24 years after the initial finding of

abnormal urine, I have the severe hypertension still, plus I've started

having problems with elevated potassium and phosphorus, and I tend to have

some edema in my abdomen and my face if I don't take my diuretic. There was

a period of about 9 or 10 years after the initial findings when I didn't see

a doctor even once (I was that healthy), but in hindsight, I should have --

because by the time the hypertension was discovered, I had developed an

enlarged left ventricle in the heart, and therefore had probably been

hypertensive without knowing it for some time. This is why I keep stressing

early blood pressure control in this group.

--Pierre